Lionfish (Pterois volitans) is a member of the Scorpaenidae family. Originated from Indian Pacific Oceanic region, from western Australia and Malaysia east to French Polynesia and up to southern Japan and southern Korea on the north and to parts of coastal Australia on the south, they are slowly spreading all over the world.

Lionfish live in underwater caves, ledges, crevices and reef cracks and spend most of the day hiding. They leave their shelters at sunset to look for food and after eating, which takes only about an hour,  they spend the night wandering around in the water.

Juvenile lionfish live together in groups, but the adults look for a companionship only during breeding time. They are very territorial and as they mature, they claim their own territory and will defend it against any other lionfish, regardless of sex. Male lionfish are more aggressive than the females, especially when looking for suitable breeding mates. As they fight they try to sting each other with their venomous dorsal spines.

Lionfish can grow up to 38 centimeters / 15 inches in length but average size is 30 cm / 12 inches.  An adult lionfish can weigh up to 1.2 kg / 2.6 lbs and the lifespan in the wild is on average 15 years.  They have up to 18 delicate needle-like dorsal fins and a long “tentacle” that protrudes above the eyes. The nose is partly covered by flaps and they also have a bony ridge that goes from across the cheek and over the eyes. Their fins have spines that are as sharp as needles, they use them to inject a potent venom into their predators.

The lionfish is considered as one of the most poisonous fish in the world. A sting from a lionfish is very painful to humans and can cause nausea and breathing difficulties, but is rarely fatal. When taking pictures, please do not enter their comfort zone as they might attack.

Tags: fish

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 at 1:00 PM and is filed under *Sharky's Blog*, Underwater Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.